Binary pattern codification strategies in an active stereoscopic system based on flexible image guides

International audienceA wide variety of three dimensional (3D) measurement systems that can extract shape information's with sub millimetric accuracy is available in the industry. However, they generally are of macroscopic size and measuring on confined areas is not feasible. To miniaturize such systems, the step proposed is the integration of flexible image guides combined with compact optical probes. This miniaturization process is tested on an active stereoscopic measurement system. In the projection channel of the system, a digital micro-mirror device (DMD) generates structured binary patterns from an incoherent white light source and injects them into a first image guide. Then, a compact optical system projects the pattern on the measurement area. The same configuration principle is applied to the acquisition channel and allows the capture of the measurement area through a second image guide and finally to a digital camera. In this miniaturized system, image guides have lower resolution than in standard imaging devices. Indeed they are equivalent of 70k pixels devices to compare to the almost 800k pixels of the DMD and camera. That implies lower axial and lateral resolutions and consequently the shape reconstruction method must be carefully chosen. In this paper, several reconstruction strategies such as tuning the projected patterns frequency and also phase-shfit versus gray code based methods were compared considering the best axial resolution criteria

GNSS Signal Authentication via Power and Distortion Monitoring

We propose a simple low-cost technique that enables civil Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers and other civil global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers to reliably detect carry-off spoofing and jamming. The technique, which we call the Power-Distortion detector, classifies received signals as interference-free, multipath-afflicted, spoofed, or jammed according to observations of received power and correlatio n function distortion. It does not depend on external hardware or a network connection and can be readily implemented on many receivers via a firmware update. Crucially, the detector can with high probability distinguish low-power spoofing from ordinary multipath. In testing against over 25 high-quality empirical data sets yielding over 900,000 separate detection tests, the detector correctly alarms on all malicious spoofing or jamming attack s while maintaining a <0.5% single-channel false alarm rate.Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanic

Oblate Schwarzschild approximation for polarized radiation from rapidly rotating neutron stars

We have developed a complete theory for the calculation of the observed Stokes parameters for radiation emitted from the surface of a rapidly rotating neutron star (NS) using the oblate Schwarzschild approximation. We accounted for the rotation of the polarization plane due to relativistic effects along the path from the stellar surface to the observer. The results were shown to agree with those obtained by performing full numerical general relativistic ray-tracing with the \textsc{arcmancer} code. We showed that the obtained polarization angle (PA) profiles may differ substantially from those derived for a spherical star. We demonstrated that assuming incorrect shape for the star can lead to biased constraints for NS parameters when fitting the polarization data. Using a simplified model, we also made a rough estimate of how accurately the geometrical parameters of an accreting NS can be determined using the X-ray polarization measurements of upcoming polarimeters like the Imaging X-ray Polarimeter Explorer (IXPE) or the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry (eXTP) mission.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted in A&

ON THE STRUCTURE AND INVARIANTS OF CUBICAL COMPLEXES

This dissertation introduces two new results for cubical complexes. The first is a simple statistic on noncrossing partitions that expresses each coordinate of the toric h-vector of a cubical complex, written in the basis of the Adin h-vector entries, as the total weight of all noncrossing partitions. This expression can then be used to obtain a simple combinatorial interpretation of the contribution of a cubical shelling component to the toric h-vector. Secondly, a class of indecomposable permutations, bijectively equivalent to stan- dard double occurrence words, may be used to encode one representative from each equivalence class of the shellings of the boundary of the hypercube. Finally, an adja- cent transposition Gray code is constructed for this class of permutations, which can be implemented in constant amortized time

Evaluating the role of the State and non-State actors in mitigating water shortages in Ethekwini municipality.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu- Natal, Durban.Water is one of the necessities needed for survival but due to the changing climate it has become scarce in many parts of the world, including South Africa. An investigation into the role of the state and non-state actors within the Department of Water and Sanitation in the eThekwini municipality serves as a departure point from which to critically examine the inclusion of the Millennium Development Goals within strategies and policies put in place by the eThekwini Municipality to promote water conservation and to ascertain how the state and non-state actors contribute in mitigating water shortages within the eThekwini Municipality. The collective problems of water scarcity are evident and will grow over time. This study used an environmental lens into understanding and examining the phenomenon of water scarcity and considered the link between governance as applied to water and how water is an important resource in reducing poverty and playing a part towards economic development of the country. This was highlighted in order to reveal the missing mechanisms of governance that would help public organizations and other stakeholders to take on joint responsibility for the water scarcity issue, because it is a long-term problem. This study employed a qualitative research design. Eleven semi-structured interviews with Department of Water and Sanitation representatives and the water management forum representative from the eThekwini Municipality were conducted. These were face-to-face interviews which were subsequently transcribed, and key themes were then developed, analysed and interpreted. Secondary data that were employed in this study was extracted from relevant journal articles, academic database websites and books. The transcribed interviews were thematically analysed. The findings revealed the ways in which the current water crisis can be used to find new solutions or practical ways such as the shift towards more water-efficient waste-management technologies. Furthermore, an evaluation of the role of the state in water mitigation measures is provided, based on the results of the qualitative data analysis. South Africa is a water stressed country with rising pressure on its water resources. The study recommends urgent solutions to protect water resources within this rapidly-developing country

Paving the way for transitions --- a case for Weyl geometry

This paper presents three aspects by which the Weyl geometric generalization of Riemannian geometry, and of Einstein gravity, sheds light on actual questions of physics and its philosophical reflection. After introducing the theory's principles, it explains how Weyl geometric gravity relates to Jordan-Brans-Dicke theory. We then discuss the link between gravity and the electroweak sector of elementary particle physics, as it looks from the Weyl geometric perspective. Weyl's hypothesis of a preferred scale gauge, setting Weyl scalar curvature to a constant, gets new support from the interplay of the gravitational scalar field and the electroweak one (the Higgs field). This has surprising consequences for cosmological models. In particular it leads to a static (Weyl geometric) spacetime with "inbuilt" cosmological redshift. This may be used for putting central features of the present cosmological model into a wider perspective.Comment: 54 pp, 2 figs. To appear in D. Lehmkuhl (ed.) "Towards a Theory of Spacetime Theories", Einstein Studies, Basel: Birkhaeuser), revised version June 201

Performance evaluation of coherent WDM PS-QPSK (HEXA) accounting for non-linear fiber propagation effects

Coherent-detection (CoD) permits to fully exploit the fourdimensional (4D) signal space consisting of the in-phase and quadrature components of the two fiber polarizations. A well-known and successful format exploiting such 4D space is Polarization-multiplexed QPSK (PM-QPSK). Recently, new signal constellations specifically designed and optimized in 4D space have been proposed, among which polarizationswitched QPSK (PS-QPSK), consisting of a 8-point constellation at the vertices of a 4D polychoron called hexadecachoron. We call it HEXA because of its geometrical features and to avoid acronym mix-up with PM-QPSK, as well as with other similar acronyms. In this paper we investigate the performance of HEXA in direct comparison with PM-QPSK, addressing non-linear propagation over realistic links made up of 20 spans of either standard single mode fiber (SSMF) or non-zero dispersion-shifted fiber (NZDSF). We show that HEXA not only confirms its theoretical sensitivity advantage over PM-QPSK in back-to-back, but also shows a greater resilience to non-linear effects, allowing for substantially increased span loss margins. As a consequence, HEXA appears as an interesting option for dual-format transceivers capable to switch on-the-fly between PM-QPSK and HEXA when channel propagation degrades. It also appears as a possible direct competitor of PM-QPSK, especially over NZDSF fiber and uncompensated links